We know that home is not a safe place for everyone. Having to remain at home with an abuser can create a higher risk of abuse. Our Domestic and Sexual Violence staff continue to serve clients through our FREE 24-hour hotlines (domestic violence: 708-485-5254, sexual assault: 708-482-9600), court advocacy, shelter, and counseling. Tips for survivors are available in our YouTube video.
Outreach and advocacy staff are actively planning digital outreach. Stay tuned to our Facebook page to find out about new events as they open up.
Sexual Assault Services
As evidenced by the #METOO movement, sexual violence is prevalent. In the United States, one in three women and one in six men experience some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. Yet 63 percent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Don’t suffer in silence. We can help.
Sexual assault and abuse are terms that refer to sexual contact without consent. Rape, intimate partner rape, incest, attempted rape, and unwanted sexual touch are often called sexual assault.
Sexual violence is a societal problem that can have lasting effects on survivors, their families, friends, and communities. Pillars Community Health, a certified rape crisis center, has provided comprehensive services to adult and child survivors of sexual abuse or sexual assault since 1990.
As part of our outreach services, our Sexual Assault team partners with local schools to provide prevention education for students and teachers. Prevention education teaches students about body safety and how to ask for help, and gives teachers and school administrators the resources to help students who need it. Our Sexual Assault staff recently made a training video on identifying and responding to childhood sexual abuse as a part of these efforts. The video covers multiple topics, including signs and symptoms of sexual abuse, the importance of consent, and how to handle disclosures. The video is also available to watch and share on our YouTube channel.
If you have experienced a sexual assault, reach out to Pillars Community Health for help using our 24-hour sexual assault hotline:
Our Services
Services are provided at NO COST and are available in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Our services include:
- A confidential 24-hour sexual assault hotline, 708-482-9600
- Crisis intervention
- Criminal justice and medical advocacy
- Individual, group, family, and couples therapy
- Community education and activities, including efforts to change entrenched societal attitudes that tolerate as well as contribute to sexual violence
- Prevention education about all forms of sexual assault/sexual abuse and healthy relationships with children, adolescents, and young adults, from preschool through college
- Culturally competent outreach and services, including support and empowerment groups for African Americans and Middle Eastern North African survivors
Feeling unsafe as you read this?
The Domestic Violence Safety Exit (red button at bottom right) is designed to help you quickly exit this page if you are currently in danger. If your abuser is in the room, click the red button, or press your ESC key, at any time you feel unsafe. The button will automatically send you to Google.com.
Pillars Community Health in the Community
Pillars Community Health is the local contact for the RAINN hotline (the Rape and Incest National Network, based in California). When someone from our service area calls RAINN, the hotline automatically connects the caller to Pillars Community Health.
Pillars Community Health provides training (with CEs) to cosmetology professionals on domestic and sexual violence.
In addition, Pillars Community Health works with emergency rooms, colleges and universities, school districts, and first responders to provide Sexual Assault Services:
- Our hospital partners include Loyola University Medical Center, MacNeal Hospital, Rush Oak Park Hospital, Westlake Hospital, AMITA Health Adventist Medical Center La Grange, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, MetroSouth Medical Center, and (beginning January 2019) Palos Hospital.
- Our university partners including Dominican University, Concordia University Chicago, St. Xavier University, Moraine Valley Community College, Morton College, Trinity Christian College, and Lincoln College of Technology.
- We partner with more than 30 area police departments.
- We provide services at our agency’s domestic violence shelter as well as the Fourth and Fifth Municipal District Courts of Cook County.
- We provide prevention education to 20 school districts.
Be an Advocate for Sexual Assault Survivors
Wear Teal
Show your support for victims and survivors each April (Sexual Assault Awareness Month) by wearing a teal ribbon.
Volunteer
We train volunteers to answer hotline calls, provide resources, and accompany survivors to local hospitals and police stations. Learn more about volunteering.
Attend an Awareness Event
Stay tuned to our calendar to learn about awareness events and activities in the community.